


Canto Alla Vita

by GaryTheFish



Series: Hope is a Four Letter Word [34]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Loki - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaryTheFish/pseuds/GaryTheFish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celebrations of life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which plans are made and Tony successfully completes another lap around the sun.

_He barely notices the twinge in his back as he leans over his project, fingers delicately working the tiny blade to finish a few details on the spine. It will be ready for its final polishing tonight; the last touches will go on tomorrow, and the binding will be cured and finished without a moment to spare. He leans back, stretching gratefully and feeling every hour spent hunched over his workspace in the muscles bunched resentfully along his spine._

_A knock at the door, and he drops a cloth over his project by habit as he goes to answer. Pepper stands at the entrance, a post-it stuck on her index finger, which she then affixes to the front of his shirt. He pulls it off and reads the note, then looks at her curiously._

_“We’re going small and a day early,” she explains. “Glorified sushi night, maybe throw in a cake and some sparklers. He was very insistent that it was to be family only; I think the two of you leaving is bugging him more than he’s letting on, but you didn’t hear that from me, and anyway, he’s saving the more extravagant stuff for the other party. Will his gift be ready?”_

_He nods. “Would you like to see it?”_

_“Doesn’t seem fair,” she says. “I think he should get to first. I’m sure he’s going to have an official unveiling where he can show it off to everyone and their Aunt Lucy, but he’ll like just having it to himself for a bit, you know? Plus I like surprises.” She pauses with a slight grin, and in it Loki can see memories of one too many unexpected gifts from Stark. “Well._ Most _surprises. I’m still trying to figure out the rabbit.”_

_“Are we still good for that day, then?”_

_“Yep,” she confirms. “Rhodes is going to take her to the airshow, and then the next day I’ve got her in solid meetings from eight until two. You should be in the clear.”_

_A grin. “Excellent.”_

_Once she is gone, he turns back to his work, making sure every nuance is exactly how he envisioned. His final survey complete, he speaks over the music that’s been playing in the background; he is still uncomfortable in total silence, and he consoles himself with the knowledge that his musical library is expanding by the day._

_“Jarvis?”_

_“Sir?”_

_“How’s my office coming along?”_

_“Right on schedule, sir. Not to worry.”_

_“Good,” Loki says as he turns off lights and sound and heads for the door. “Very glad to hear it.”_

_***_

Loki rested on his stomach, hands under his cheek and eyes closed. “I thought this was supposed to be my job,” he said.

Aeslin straddled his hips, hands kneading ruthlessly through the knots on his back. “You did a job, all right,” she agreed kindly. “Is this supposed to be a muscle or are you smuggling guinea pigs? How long were you in there today?”

“Almost long enough.” His voice was bliss, mingled with a tinge of regret. “Had I known this was to be my reward, I would have come home sooner.” A strangled noise escaped him as she hit a particularly sore spot. “Though _reward_ might not be the right word, come to think of it.”

A chuckle as she moved up toward his shoulders. “Well, you’ve done it for me often enough, and you don’t even smell like horse, so that’s a mark in your favor. It can be your turn again sometime soon, even though I’m not sure I like the idea of you thinking of seducing me as a _job_. I would think it a privilege.”

He pulled his hand from beneath his cheek to smack ineffectually at her; she dodged easily out of reach, then resumed her work on his back. “You know what I mean,” he said. “And I didn’t say I wanted to seduce you. I said I wanted to _court_ you. There’s quite a distinct difference where I come from. Alas, not so much here. Savages.”

That earned him another not-so-gentle thump, but her voice was thoughtful when she spoke again; her thumbs pressed carefully but firmly along his shoulder blades. “Really.”

“Seduction’s the easy part,” he said, voice muffled by the hand under his face. “Anybody can do that. Courtship’s a little more involved. Were this Asgard, we’d be starting the grand tour of the Realms in no time. Months of travel, weeks of feasts with congratulations veiled in vague, sort of desperate last-minute negotiations. ‘Oh, the two of you seem truly _perfect_ for each other, such a shame that your parents seem to have overlooked our insert-available-offspring-here in their search for a proper match,’ and et cetera _ad infinitum_. Lots of winking and nudging and ignoring what people say behind your backs. Plenty of time to get to know the other person, find out what they like, what they don’t, and how well you’re going to get along, if you plan to at all.”

“Sounds like personal experience,” she said.

“Not exactly.”

“So you were never promised to anyone?”

He hissed out a breath as she hit another too-tight spot. “Once. Died a-borning the second Odin named Thor as his successor. Lost in the shuffle of coronation preparations. Apparently they’d thought they were getting the heir, and when they didn’t, well. Filed a complaint, goods received not as described, you know how it goes. I’m sure they received a full refund, with interest for their troubles, though now that I think of it, I wonder how long Odin would have really let it go on, given my true parentage. I was meant for something besides yet another link to Vanaheim, after all.”

“Why not a honeymoon tour after everything’s over? Leave the awkward negotiations out of it?”

“Gods, how boring would _that_ be?” he said with a laugh. “Not much to see from a bedroom window. Royalty, remember? Heirs don’t make themselves. You say honeymoon, we - sorry, _they_ \- say working vacation.”

She snickered as she shifted away, and he rolled over, pulling her back down onto his stomach and running his hands along her sides. He brought one of her hands to his lips. “Fingers of gold, love,” he said. “Every knot gone. Thank you.”

She leaned down for a kiss. “You’re welcome.” Coming to her feet, she pulled him up as well. “Drink lots of water, and don’t ruin all my hard work.” At his look, she grinned. “Please. I know that face. You’re going back down there, and I’m not going to see you until tomorrow.”

“Sad, but true.”

“Dinner beforehand?”

“The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back.”

A second’s thought, then she went up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. “Right then. Off you go.”

***

The party was small but well-appointed, within keeping of Tony’s wishes. His face lit up when they moved toward the cheerfully decorated living room as he noticed the table of presents that Pepper and Happy had set up. He saw the heavy box near the back at once and poked at it gleefully with a glance at Loki.

“This what I think it is?”

A shrug as Loki leaned back against the couch cushions, Aeslin’s legs in his lap and his fingers combing through the loose strands on the back of her neck. “Won’t know until you open it,” he replied, and Tony patted the present again before pushing it behind some others.

“I’ll save it for last, then.”

Loki grinned as he settled back further, curious to see what someone got the man who could have anything he wanted.

From Steve and Bruce came a set of jumper cables, with a note to incorporate them into the suit prior to the next alien invasion, because they couldn’t always guarantee that Bruce would be there to terrify him back to life. Steve had also added a small, framed sketch of Stark Tower, done in the days from before the invasion. There were gifts from the others, too, some humorous and some more meaningful, and he finally turned to the box tagged from Loki, Aeslin and Natasha. He lifted his eyebrows at the last name, and Loki merely told him to open first and ask questions later.

Tony tore through the wrapping paper and carefully lifted the top off the box before peeking in; he let out a whoop as he pulled the gift free.

The book stretched from his fingertips to elbow, bound in metallic red leather and vibrant gold accents. Raised bands coursed down the spine, each lightly marked to emulate resistors. The cover bore a replica of his arc reactor; a nearly translucent blue material represented the power source, and as he brushed his fingers across, it began to glow with the same blue light. Tony laughed in delight, then opened the book and gave Loki a look.

“This isn’t _Cat in the Hat_.”

“No, it isn’t. Give me _some_ credit, Stark, by which I mean the the bulk of your accolades for what’s on those pages should go to Miss Romanoff and Doctor Kindle.”

He flipped through the pages. Drawings and notes from some of the greatest inventors and scientists in history, all replicas of the originals, and Tony’s grin got wider as he went further. “Chu State? Tang Dynasty? Da Vinci? Tesla? How did you find all this stuff from Tesla? I’ve never seen some of this before.”

“Natasha was bored,” Aeslin said, “so we gave her a challenge. Did you know she can talk her way into the restricted section of the Serbian National Archives in under two minutes? We were terribly impressed, but _she_ claims she’s losing her touch. Sneaking into China’s main repository apparently took her less than six, but there’s way more security.”

Loki expected a snarky reply, but was surprised when Tony said nothing. He had reached the final section of the book - the one devoted to his own work. Hand drawn schematics of the first suit, several of the iterations that had followed, and on the last page, an architectural illustration of the original Stark Tower, drawn in the exact style of his suit’s blueprints.

Tony glanced up at Loki and Aeslin with his mouth slightly open, and Loki grinned back, knowing then that every second he’d spent massaging feeling back into Aeslin’s hands, every time he’d dodged a crumpled wad of paper she’d thrown at him in frustration before starting one of the schematics over, every trip to the art store for drawing supplies he’d never even heard of, every night spent in his workshop was absolutely worth the look on Tony’s face.

 _At last_ , he thought, as Stark gave in to Pepper’s grabby-hands motion with a theatrical sigh and gave her the book to peruse, _perhaps I can start to repay the debt I owe you._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (On the impetus for L&As' conversation:  
> Me at 15: I think I want to go on a cruise when I have my honeymoon.  
> My dad: Why bother? I mean, how much can you see out a porthole, anyways?  
> Me at 15: *understands the universe in the brief, glorious second before i die of utter embarrassment with a lily clutched to my chest and the words "no dad why" on my lips*)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki fulfills a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sing to life  
> To its beauty  
> To each of its wounds  
> Each of its caresses, caresses
> 
> I sing to life and to its tragic beauty  
> To pain and to strife, and all that dances through me  
> The rise and the fall; I've lived through it all

The flowers started the next morning. The day dawned clear and cool, and Aeslin opened her eyes to see a paper flower on the other pillow. She blinked slowly as she came upright, pulling the blanket around her shoulders, then picked it up, noticing the tag that dangled from one of the leaves. She recognized the sharp, clear script. _A new language,_ he’d written. _So many meanings to learn; I very much like it, and I think you will, too. Your first lesson: Camilla japonicus. (I told you I’d make you another flower to replace the one you bled on. I can’t be blamed if it took me over six months to get around to it.) See you tonight._

She twirled the stem in her fingers, a faint smile on her lips, and then laid it back on the pillow as she got ready to accompany Rhodey to the airshow, two and a half hours away at Edwards Air Force Base.

“Tony’s going to be too busy recovering from his party like the old man he is,” he’d said, leaning on the gate as she’d worked the curry comb through Bean’s rumpled coat. “Plus, it’ll be his _actual_ birthday, so I’m pretty sure he’s going to do his yearly Starbucks tour to see exactly how many free coffees he and Pepper can get in under two hours. It’s kind of their tradition. Loke’s got negotiations, I think.” He’d tried to look casual and failed miserably. “This is only my second year doing a solo exhibition as War Machine. I think half the people in the audience are only there to see if Tony’s going to swoop in out of the blue and knock me from the sky. Care to be in my cheering section? It’d mean a lot. I’ll even buy you lunch.”

“No need,” she’d told him, scrubbing small circles on the dappled grey’s cheek. “I’d love to go. I haven’t been to an airshow in forever. It’ll be fun.”

There was another flower in Rhodes’ glove box; she discovered it when he asked her to grab an extra napkin for his burger on the ride home.

 _Zantedeschia elliotiana. I hope you enjoyed your adventure._ She glanced up at Rhodes, who merely took the napkin she handed him with a grin and kept driving.

He wasn’t home when she returned; a note on the fridge confirmed that he was still working  and pointed her toward a delicate vase placed in the middle of the table. Inside was a third offering.

_Dodecatheon meadia. More a description of me than you, but no matter. Figured them out yet? The color suits you, in any case. Sleep well._

She arranged her two flowers in the vase next to the deep purple, folded paper ones already tucked inside, then shrugged off her jacket and got ready for bed.

***

_Gelsemium sempervirens. Only one to add to your vase today, but fear not. I’ll make it up to you somehow. Don’t forget your meetings._

She checked the clock, then showered and dressed rapidly. Aeslin slid the latest gift in with the others, smiling a little as she pulled on his soft, grey hoodie and ran out the door just in time to make her first conference call.

Loki poked his head into her office a little after two. Aeslin looked up from her laptop, closing out the last video call and smiling at him. It seemed as though it had been longer than two days since she’d seen him last, and she mentally chided herself for not staying up longer the night before, even if he hadn’t made it home until after one in the morning.

“Done at last?” he asked with a grin. “I’m starving.”

“Yes,” she replied with a bit of relief as she stretched. “I thought they’d never finish.”

He came over, pushing her laptop closed with one hand as he leaned forward for a kiss. She obliged, then stood and joined him. He twined his fingers with hers and pulled her gently through the door and into the hallway. They had only gone a few steps when he stopped.

“Wait. I left my wallet in my office. Come with me?”

A smile. “Of course.”

The _Out of Order_ sign was on his door, the one that had started the whole prank war, and she touched it gently as he swiped his badge and pushed the door open for her. She walked in, her eyes automatically going to the darkened windows. The door closed behind her with a soft click, and then the whole room changed.

The plains and rivers of Asgard spread before her, the palace looming off to her left, and she spun to see Loki leaning against what should have been the door post, but was instead a heavily carved stone pillar. He gestured around her. “Your tour of the realms begins, little one. May I present the Queen’s Garden. Hidden jewel in the All-Mother’s crown. An example of a courtship that continues to put generations of Asgard’s finest to shame as they try - and fail - to equal it.”

She turned in a slow circle, marveling at the realism. A butterfly wandered past - she stretched out a finger, and it passed through her hand with a whisper of sound. “It looks different than I remember.”

He came closer. “Because you weren’t there in springtime, little one. The season in which it’s truly a wonder to behold.” He made a smaller gesture to the ceiling. “Or at night.”

The room changed again; she now stood on the overlook beneath a tree sparkling with stars. On closer inspection, she realized they were not stars at all, but fireflies, larger than their earthly counterparts and gleaming with a pale, clean light. She reached up carefully, and the illusory beasts swirled around her fingers, throwing their fitful light across her face and hand. She felt the smile spread across her face.

“Magic,” she said, and he shrugged at her familiar words.

“Still don’t have a scrap, little one,” he admitted as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “But lucky for me, I’ve found something close enough. You can thank Jarvis for all this.”

The scene changed back to one similar to the first, the gardens shining in the spring light, and Loki led her to a pair of floor cushions tucked beneath the nearly-realistic tree with several boxes stashed next to them. She regarded him with a small smile.

“So what’s the occasion?”

“You know perfectly well what the occasion is, you duplicitous little minx, much as you’ve tried to hide it from everyone around here, and I don’t even _want_ to know how much you paid Clint for his silence. Your birthday. Thought you could hide it next to Stark’s, did you?”

A faint smirk. “I hoped. I mean, born nineteen hours and a few years apart. I thought for sure it’d get lost in the shuffle.”

“Tried to _make_ sure, more likely,” Loki chastised as he guided her onto one of the cushions and sat down next to her. He took the first box and held it up. “So, first. For your birthday.” He handed it over, planting a kiss on her jaw as he did so.

She lifted the lid at his gesture, pulling out three t-shirts made of the softest cotton she’d ever felt. Designs covered the back of each one, and she grinned as she inspected them. The chemical formula for caffeine. A T-Rex with reach extenders. The last carried an image of an elaborate set of steampunk wings, ones she was almost sure either he or Tony had designed, and she smiled at him. She had slowly but surely been building her collection again after losing almost every scrap of clothing she owned in the Warehouse’s destruction and the ensuing disaster, and these would fit right in. “They’re perfect,” she told him, and his answering grin was luminous and more than a little pleased.

“Second.” Another kiss, this one below her ear as he reached for what seemed to be a much heavier box. “An apology for ruining _last_ year’s birthday. And don’t argue. I did the math.”

She tried to smile. “Well, I wouldn’t say you completely… I mean, it wasn’t like…” she broke off almost immediately at his look and winced helplessly. “You did. You _thoroughly_ did. And it wasn’t even just that I had to spend another birthday in the basement. You were the worst. The absolute _worst_.”

“Completely, inexcusably horrid,” he agreed, placing the box carefully in her lap, “though you certainly gave as good as you got. I haven’t been able to appreciate Queen in the _slightest_ since that day, and believe me when I say I’ve tried, since Parker’s so inordinately fond of them. Fortunately, you seem to have forgiven me at least a little.”

A nudge. “Maybe.” She raised the lid to the second gift and stared into the box. Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke. “But… you were working on Tony’s.”

“Tony’s has been done for quite some time, love, and I can multitask with the best of them.”

She pulled the book out, and Loki set the box aside. He watched her as she ran her fingers across the front cover. The patina on the burnished leather was reminiscent of ancient manuscripts; it almost glowed in the light from Jarvis’ illusion. Raised knots and runes spiraled across the cover, curling onto the spine. The individual strands were chased in gold, silver, or faintly glittered with deeper colors. Aeslin blinked, the image blurring a little, then sharpening again as she stroked her fingers along the delicate carvings on the spine. She opened the book carefully, letting it fall open to the title page, and saw her own, familiar words on the smooth vellum.

“I had no idea.” The words stumbled from her lips, and he smiled.

“Rather the point, sweetling.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “This was one of the first things that drew me to you. Your brilliance. Your passion. Your ability to call up memories I had almost forgotten. To make me care for mere mortals, ones dead and gone long before I ever drew breath. Your dissertation brought us together, in its own strange way, and I wanted to give it the proper treatment.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

He touched her face again, and this time she noticed how his fingers came away wet. “You don’t really need to _say_ anything, little one.” Loki took the book gently from her hands, putting it back into its box. “And third.”

She blinked again and stifled a sniffle. “Third? Good heavens. My heart can’t take much more of this.”

A slight chuckle. “Not a gift so much as a warning: it’s not a board meeting. It’s a surprise party. My vote was for small, intimate, or hopefully non-existent.”

“Oh, dear.”

“I did my best,” he admitted, “but I could only talk him down to fifty people.”

“Do I even _know_ fifty people here?”

He looked a little helpless, and she loved him all the more for it. “I don’t think so.” Smoothing his fingers along her hair, he gave her a sympathetic look. “It was like trying to fight mercury. All fun and games until I realized I was going to go completely mad if I played with it much longer, so I decided to cut my losses and tattle as quickly and unashamedly as possible. Sorry, love. I tried.”

“I don’t doubt it for a minute,” she told him with a kiss on the cheek. His smile returned, and he inclined his head to the remaining boxes.

“Open the last ones, then.”

She lifted the lids on each to reveal two small, carefully decorated cakes. A second look, and she narrowed her eyes.

“Did you make these yourself?”

The smile was now a full-fledged grin. “Chocolate with ganache,” he said, pointing first to one, then the other. “Lemon with berries and cream. Both with the Potts Seal of Approval, might I add.” At her look, he casually lifted one shoulder. “I had to borrow their kitchen so ours didn’t give me away.”

“This is amazing,” she said. “All of this. I just…” she shook her head, the smile on her face threatening to pull a muscle in her cheek. “Can I keep you?”

Loki held up a pair of forks with an answering laugh. “That’s kind of the idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sing to life  
> Reflected into your eyes  
> Infinitely fragile 
> 
> I sing to life  
> I sing with full voice  
> To this journey of ours
> 
> It calls us  
> It calls us  
> It calls us
> 
> (language of flowers: Camilla japonicus: adoration; Zantedeschia elliotiana: beauty; Dodecatheon meadia: devotion; Gelsemium sempervirens: grace, elegance)

**Author's Note:**

> Beta read by the Awesome Possum LokiSpeaks. All mistakes are mine. Title (and lyric) by Josh Groban. Feedback appreciated! Love to you all! <3


End file.
